Man Charged With Murder Is No Stranger To Jail

SNOW HILL -- Police arrested a Pocomoke City man for the stabbing death of a teen, charging him with murder.

James Edward Ballard, 29, of Pocomoke City, was ordered to be held without bond by Judge Gerald Purnell in Worcester County District Court.

Police charged Ballard with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 18-year-old Russell Matthew Bailey III, also of Pocomoke City. Police also charged him with second-degree murder, manslaughter and first-degree assault.

The circumstances of the incident were not immediately clear. First-degree murder is a charge that implies premeditation; Ballard told police he was defending himself.

According to court documents, Pocomoke City Police and Maryland State Police responded at 2:30 p.m. to a reported stabbing in the 700 block of Eighth Street in Pocomoke City, across the street from the middle school.

Police found the victim lying on the ground, bleeding from a chest wound. In charging documents, police said "numerous witnesses" said they saw Ballard stab Bailey.

Investigators telephoned Ballard to come in for an interview. At the Pocomoke City Police station, he confessed to stabbing Bailey, calling it an act of self-defense. In charging documents, police allege that Ballard killed Bailey with premeditation, based upon their investigation.

Pocomoke Mayor Mike McDermott said the event was sad and unfortunate.

"It's always a tragedy when people resolve anger and frustration with this kind of violence," said McDermott. "I'm glad we know who the bad guy is and we have dealt with the criminal."

Bailey had graduated from Pocomoke High School in June. Tyrone Mills, the school's principal, said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened to learn of Russell's death. It is a tragedy to lose a young man who had his whole life ahead of him."

Mills described Bailey as a student who enjoyed working on vehicles in the auto tech program who had aspirations to continue his education after he graduated last spring.

At Snow Hill District Court early last Thursday, Ballard, the suspect in Bailey's killing, sported a bushy beard and shiny white Air Jordan sneakers with his a navy blue prisoner jumpsuit. He told the judge that he has "a lot of stuff going on" in his life, that he needed a lawyer, and asked for a preliminary hearing.

Ballard also told the judge he had barely been home two weeks after having spent 18 months in jail for a probation violation.

In September 2008, a Worcester County Circuit Court judge sentenced Bailey to a year in jail and two years on probation on charges of second-degree assault.

Months later, authorities learned not only had Ballard moved from Pocomoke City to Philadelphia, but he had been arrested there in February 2009 on drug charges. They also learned of his July 2009 arrest in Hampton, Va., also on a drug charge.

Both his move and the arrests violated the terms of his probation. As a result, a judge sent him back to jail for another 18 months in November 2009.

Ballard's criminal record in Worcester and Wicomico counties dates to 1999 and includes other charges for burglary, drug possession, armed robbery, assault and escaping from police custody. No date has been set yet for Ballard's next court appearance.

www.delmarvanow.com

Sentences Given To Four In Accomack County Circuit Court

Accomack County Commonwealths Attorney Gary Agar reports the following cases were heard in Accomack County Circuit Court:

Bruce Meilhammer, 18 of Chincoteague, was sentenced to 90 days imprisonment, suspended but time served, and restitution for 3 counts of grand larceny.

Kerwin Mears, 25 of Accomac, was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for a second offense of possession of cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute.

Kenneth Simpkins, Jr., 26 of Greenbush, was sentenced to one year and three months imprisonment for distribution of cocaine.

Bruce Johnson, 52 of Mappsville, was sentenced to three years imprisonment for possession of cocaine. Johnson was also reimposed a suspended sentenced of one year for possession of cocaine.
www.shoredailynews.com

How Jail Time is Determined Sometimes OR.... Why A Five Year Sentence Isn't Five Years

This article was written in March 2009 by David Muhlhausen, the Senior Policy Analyst in the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation. This is what he had to say when he spoke before the Judiciary Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates Senate.

This might give alot of us a better understanding towards the reason why so many brutal people are allowed to walk the streets that we pay tax dollars towards to be safe!

The Problem of Lenient Sentencing

A very likely explanation for Maryland's high violent crime rate may be its sentencing system that is too lenient, especially for violent crimes. The concern over high crime rates and a failed rehabilitative model of corrections led federal and many state governments to reform their correctional systems. Many states have adopted "truth-in-sentencing" laws, where the goal is to ensure that offenders convicted of violent crimes actually serve most of their incarceration sentences.

In authentic truth-in-sentencing states, violent crime offenders sentenced to prison are required to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences with the possibility of early release for the remaining 15 percent of the sentence for good behavior. Upon completion of at least 85 percent of their prison sentences, offenders may be returned to society on supervised release.

While Maryland law requires violent crime offenders sentenced to prison to serve only 50 percent of their sentences, a recent case reported by The Baltimore Sun demonstrates the inadequacy of Maryland's system. One month after an offender was convicted of armed robbery, The Baltimore Sun reported that the son-in-law of the 66-year-old robbery victim was notified of the convicted offender's forthcoming parole hearing.[2] The armed robber was sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but three years suspended by the judge. The parole hearing, set for this summer, will determine if the armed robber is eligible to be paroled in February 2010 because the time the offender served in jail awaiting trial counts toward his suspended sentence. Thus, a ten-year sentence was reduced by the judge to only three years. Now Maryland's corrections system may release the armed robber after only serving 1.5 years--15 percent of the original sentence. The General Assembly should consider ending the state's revolving door of justice that does not serve the interests of law-abiding citizens.

Reasons to Support Truth-in-Sentencing

Truth-in-sentencing can be justified for several reasons. First, long prison terms for serious and violent crimes are just. Second, incapacitation and deterrence works.

Longer prison terms for serious and violent crimes are just. Maryland's current sentencing system grants judges and parole boards too much discretion in sentence lengths and release decisions. This discretion all too often comes at the expense of public safety. In addition, Maryland's diminution credit system makes sentences too lenient for serious and violent offenders. The diminution credit system allows an inmate to earn up to 20 days off his sentence for every month of good behavior and participation in rehabilitation services. When the inmate's diminution credits equals the number of days remaining on the inmate's sentence, the inmate is eligible for mandatory release.

Real truth-in-sentencing laws make incarceration terms more meaningful by ensuring that offenders actually serve most of their sentences. The adoption of truth-in-sentencing by Maryland will help restore the credibility of courts by making sentencing more uniform and ensuring that offenders actually served almost all of their original sentences.

Incapacitation and deterrence works. During the 1970s and 1980s, state officials from across the nation recognized that the rehabilitative model of corrections did not work. Correctional systems no longer focused on the ideal of rehabilitation at the expense of public safety. Rehabilitation programs were deemed ineffective.[3] Deterrence and incapacitation became the primary mission of correctional systems. Thus, federal and many state governments adopted such reforms as determinate sentencing, truth-in-sentencing, and increased sentence lengths.

The switch to determinate sentencing and increased sentence lengths prevents crime through the effects of incapacitation and deterrence. The incapacitation effect reduces crime because offenders confined in prison from the rest of society are unable to harm innocent citizens. Criminals in prison simply cannot harm society.

In addition, determinate sentencing, combined with increased sentence lengths, produces greater levels of deterrence than occurred under the rehabilitative model. Deterrence theory supposes that increasing the risk of apprehension and punishment for crime deters individuals from committing crime. Nobel laureate Gary S. Becker's seminal 1968 study of the economics of crime recognized that individuals respond to the costs and benefits of committing crime.[4] In short, incentives matter.

Over the years, several studies have demonstrated a link between increased incarceration and decreases in crime rates. After controlling for socioeconomic factors that may influence crime rates, research based on trends in multiple jurisdictions (states and counties) over several years indicates that incarceration reduces crime significantly.[5]

Professor Joanna M. Shepherd of Emory University found that truth-in-sentencing laws that required violent felons to serve up to 85 percent of their sentence reduced violent crime rates.[6] These laws reduced county murder rates per 100,000 residents by 1.2 incidents. Assaults and robberies were reduced by 44.8 and 39.6 incidents per 100,000 residents, respectively. Rapes and larcenies were reduced by 4.2 and 89.5 incidents per 100,000 residents.[7]

Other studies demonstrate the crime-reducing effect of incarceration. Professor William Spelman of the University of Texas at Austin estimates that the national drop in crime during the 1990s would have been 27 to 34 percent smaller without the prison buildup.[8] In another study, Professor Spelman analyzed the impact of incarceration in Texas counties from 1990 to 2000.[9] The most significant factor responsible for the drop in crime in Texas was the state's prison expansion.

Professor Steven Levitt of the University of Chicago found that for each prisoner released from prison, there was an increase of almost 15 reported and unreported crimes per year.[10]

Two studies by Thomas B. Marvell of Justec Research in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Carlisle E. Moody of the College of William and Mary support these findings on the effects of incarceration. In a 1994 study of 49 states' incarceration rates from 1971 to 1989, Marvell and Moody found that about 17 crimes (mainly property crimes) were averted for each additional prisoner put behind bars.[11] In a study using national data from 1930 to 1994, Marvell and Moody found that a 10 percent increase in the total prison population was associated with a 13 percent decrease in homicide, after controlling for socioeconomic factors.[12]

The Cost of Corrections in Maryland

Opponents of adopting authentic truth-in-sentencing laws in Maryland may argue that the state cannot afford to implement such policies because of budget constraints. However, public safety is the primary responsibility of state government. In fiscal year (FY) 2007, corrections made up only 4.4 percent of Maryland's total expenditures (see Chart 2).[13] Comparatively, elementary and secondary education and Medicaid comprised 18.7 percent and 18.5 percent of total expenditures, respectively.[14] The amount of funds Maryland spends on corrections is little compared to other less important government activities.

Conclusion

Maryland faces a serious violent crime problem. Some members of society clearly need to be in prison for the safety of the rest. As long as that is the case, authorities must do what it takes to incarcerate those people who commit serious and violent crimes. Authentic truth-in-sentencing is one such policy that can make Maryland communities safer.

To read the entire report and see the charts on crime go to http://www.heritage.org/Research/Testimony/Why-Maryland-Needs-Truth-in-Sentencing

http://www.heritage.org/

Man Charged With Fatal Stabbing In Pocomoke Had Just Been Released

Why was this man back into the streets of any city or town? Why are any of them set free and allowed to roam the streets helping themselves to anything they feel entitled to? What is it going to take to get these people actually punished for the crimes they commit? My guess is that repeat offenders know how to work the system..........

Someone clue the average citizen in on all of this so that we NO longer become victims!

SNOW HILL -- Police arrested a Pocomoke City man late Wednesday in the stabbing death of a teen, charging him with murder.

James Edward Ballard, 29, of Pocomoke City was ordered to be held without bond by Judge Gerald Purnell in Worcester County District Court.

Police charged Ballard with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 18-year-old Russell Matthew Bailey III of Pocomoke City. Police also charged him with second-degree murder, manslaughter and first-degree assault.

The circumstances of the incident were not immediately clear. First-degree murder is a charge that implies premeditation; Ballard told police he was defending himself.

According to court documents, Pocomoke City Police and Maryland State Police responded at 2:30 p.m. to a reported stabbing in the 700 block of Eighth Street in Pocomoke City, across the street from the middle school.

Police found the victim lying on the ground, bleeding from a chest wound. In charging documents, police said "numerous witnesses" said they saw Ballard stab Bailey.

Investigators telephoned Ballard to come in for an interview. At the Pocomoke City Police station, he confessed to stabbing Bailey, calling it an act of self-defense. In charging documents, police allege Ballard killed Bailey with premeditation, based upon their investigation.

Bailey graduated from Pocomoke High School in June. Tyrone Mills, the school's principal, said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened to learn of Russell's death. It is a tragedy to lose a young man who had his whole life ahead of him."

In Snow Hill District Court on Thursday, Ballard sported a bushy beard and shiny white Air Jordan sneakers with his navy blue prisoner jumpsuit. He told the judge that he has "a lot of stuff going on" in his life; he needed a lawyer, he said, and asked for a preliminary hearing.

Ballard also told the judge he had barely been home two weeks after having spent time in jail for a probation violation.

In September 2008, a Worcester County Circuit Court judge sentenced Bailey to a year in jail and two years on probation on charges of second-degree assault.

Months later, authorities learned not only had Ballard moved from Pocomoke City to Philadelphia, but he had been arrested there in February 2009 on drug charges. They also learned of his July 2009 arrest in Hampton, Va., also on a drug charge.

His move and the arrests violated the terms of his probation. As a result, a judge sent him back to jail in November 2009.

Ballard's criminal record in Worcester and Wicomico counties dates to 1999 and includes other charges for burglary, drug possession, armed robbery, assault and escaping from police custody. No date has been set yet for Ballard's next court appearance.

www.delmarvanow.com

Arrest Has Been Made In Pocomoke Stabbing

Reported around 1:00 a.m.

*UPDATE* The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation has made an arrest in the stabbing death of a teenager in Pocomoke City.

Authorities say 29-year-old James Ballard murdered 18-year-old Russell Bailey near 9th St. in Pocomoke Wednesday. Ballard is behind bars this morning.
www.wboc.com

Bomb Threats - Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth

Courthouses in Newport News, Hampton and Portsmouth were evacuated this morning following a bomb threat this morning, according to police.

Hampton police spokeswoman Allison Quinones said that city's courthouses reopened around 11:15 a.m. The Newport News Courthouse reopened at 11:45 p.m. Portsmouth remains closed.

Kathleen Carey, spokeswoman for the Newport News Sheriff's Office, said two threats were phoned in to 911 this morning - one at 9:23 and the other at 10:01 - regarding bombs at courthouses in Newport News, Hampton and Portsmouth. The caller, who wasn't specific about which courthouses, threatened to bomb them at 10:30 a.m., according to Harold Eley, a spokesman for the Newport News police department.

Police in Newport News and Hampton have evacuated all courthouses, with the exception of the federal courthouse in Newport News. Portsmouth Circuit Court has also been evacuated. In Newport News, K-9 units arrived around 10:30 a.m. to begin checking for explosives.
In Hampton, police closed the blocks of King and Lincoln Streets and Pembroke Avenue surrounding the courthouses. In Newport News, police have shut down 25th and 26th streets as well as Huntington Avenue to West Street.

www.dailypress.com

Ocean City Police See Man Break Into Apartment

Yesterday afternoon Ocean City Police saw 29 year old Mark Meekins break into an apartment and leave with a 42 inch flat screen TV. Officers moved in and arrested Meekins – and also found him to be wanted on burglary charges in Delaware as well. He’s being held in the Worcester County Jail in default of $50,000 bond.

NEWS RELEASE: On September 22, 2010, at approximately 4 p.m., Ocean City Police were in the area of 76th Street when they observed a subject identified as Mark Allen Meekins, Jr., 29, of Ocean City, break into an apartment and steal a 42-inch flat screen television. Meekins was arrested and found to be wanted in the state of Delaware for burglary as well.

Meekins has been charged with:
- 1st Degree Burglary
- Theft over $1000 to $10,000
- Held on Fugitive Warrant

Meekins was seen by an Ocean City District Court Commissioner and held on a $50,000 bond. Meekins was transferred to the Worcester County Jail.

www.wgmd.com

Supreme Court Will Not Stop Execution

THE US Supreme Court denied an emergency application yesterday that would have stopped Virginia from executing a woman convicting of two killings, clearing the way for the state to execute a female for the first time in nearly a century.

A Court spokeswoman added that Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor voted to stop the execution of Teresa Lewis, who is scheduled to die by legal injection tomorrow.

Lewis, 40, was convicted of taking part in the hired killings of her husband and stepson in October of 2002. Lewis paid two men, one of whom was her lover, and purchased the guns they used in the murders of Julian and Charles "C.J." Lewis. In exchange for the killings, Teresa Lewis planned to split an anticipated $250,000 insurance payment with the shooters, Matthew Shallenberger and Rodney Fuller.

She admitted her role in 2003, pleading guilty to seven overall criminal counts and two counts of murder for hire.

The Supreme Court was Lewis' last stop on the long legal road leading to her execution. She was also denied clemency last Friday by Virginia's governor, Bob McDonnell.

Lewis' lawyers have long argued that she should not be killed because she has tested as low as 70 on IQ tests and the Supreme Court has ruled that killing mentally handicapped people constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. However, the lower courts have continually denied the argument that Lewis qualifies as severely mentally handicapped.

In denying her clemency, McDonnell said last week that since no medical professional has ever concluded that Lewis was mentally retarded, there was no compelling reason for him to intervene on her behalf.

Shallenberger and Fuller both received life sentences for the the murders.

www.heraldsun.com.au

Iran Accuses United States Of Double Standard

Iran accused the US of human rights violations today over plans by the state of Virginia to execute a woman for the first time in nearly 100 years, despite claims that she has severe learning difficulties.

Iran's state-sponsored media has devoted considerable coverage to reports about Teresa Lewis, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday for arranging the murder of her husband and stepson in 2002.

The parliamentary human rights committee said her case reflected "the double standards" of the American government, comparing her case to that of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.

"We will file an official complaint to the international community against the US if the sentence is administered," Hossein Naghavi, an Iranian MP and the spokesman for the committee, told the semi-official Fars news agency. Several Iranian MPs have expressed concerns over Lewis's execution and have asked the US for her sentence to be commuted.

America was one of the several countries to express outrage over Ashtiani's case, which has embarrassed the Iranian government after receiving considerable international attention. Iran has since suspended the stoning sentence, although Ashtiani is still being held in jail and her family fear for her life.

In Virginia, governor Robert McDonnell refused an appeal for clemency for Lewis, who lawyers say has an IQ of 72. The supreme court has ruled that anyone with an IQ below 70 may not be executed. She has one last chance of appealing to the US supreme court ahead of her scheduled execution. The men who carried out the killings – one of whom was Lewis's lover – received life sentences.

Iranian news agencies highlighted similarities between the cases, reporting that Lewis, like Ashtiani, had been convicted of "having an extramarital relationship". MPs criticised the US for sentencing Lewis to death while sparing the lives of the killers – as happened in Ashtiani's case.

The Fars news agency criticised the US media for "being silent in the past seven years Lewis has been kept in jail". "On her execution day she'll wish for a better country whose judiciary would listen to its people rather than intervening in the internal affairs of other countries," it said.

"It's not been a long time since the American media attacked Iran over the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani … Lewis's case has similarities with Mohammadi Ashtiani's case with the difference that Sakineh has been found guilty for the crime she committed but there are lots of ambiguities in Teresa's case. The US and the American media tried their best to make a symbol of human rights out of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani because of the background of their atrocities towards Iran but after seven years, human rights organisations have been silent for Teresa. This shows their double standard in relation to other counties."

Iranian MPs Zohreh Elahian and Salman Zaker also condemned the US over Lewis's sentence which they say is "contradictory to international standards". They have called for a judicial review.

In an interview with ABC last weekend in New York, Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied Ashtiani had ever been given a death sentence by stoning.

www.guardian.co.uk

Horrorcore Rapper "Syco Sam" Pleads Guilty For Four Murders

FARMVILLE, Va. (AP) - An aspiring rapper in the "horrorcore" genre pleaded guilty Monday to killing his 16-year-old girlfriend, her parents and her friend days after the adults chaperoned the teens at a music festival featuring artists rhyming about raping, killing and mutilating people.

Richard "Sam" McCroskey, 21, was sentenced to life in prison as part of his agreement to plead guilty to two counts of capital murder and two counts of first-degree murder. He initially was charged with four counts of capital murder, which could have resulted in the death penalty if convicted on the charges.

His attorney, Cary Bowen, said after the hearing that the prospect of a conviction on capital murder charges was a major factor in agreeing to the guilty plea.

"Four bodies are pretty compelling evidence," Bowen said. "This is the kind of stuff that citizens any place in this country are terrified it could happen to them. This is the kind of case death penalties arise from."

McCroskey, from Castro Valley, Calif., arrived at the Prince Edward County Circuit Court shackled, in a loose-fitting orange jumpsuit and under heavy guard. He did not look at family members gathered on side of the courtroom, and showed little emotion during the hearing. He replied "yes" and "no" to questions from the judge in Prince Edward County Circuit Court.

He declined to offer a statement in court but Bowen said his client was preparing a message to give to the victims' families. He described McCroskey's mood as "somber."

"There are four people dead here," Bowen said. "He's not happy at all."

McCroskey pleaded guilty to killing his girlfriend, 16-year-old Emma Niederbrock; her parents, Presbyterian minister Mark Niederbrock and Longwood University professor Debra Kelley; and Emma's 18-year-old friend, Melanie Wells of Inwood, W.Va. Their bodies were found last September in Kelley's home.

Family members and friends of the victims sobbed softly during the hearing in this college town 50 miles southwest of Richmond. They left without speaking to reporters, but issued a written statement: "We have endured a tragedy of unspeakable proportions. We are relieved that justice has been done.

"While we will never forget our loved ones or the circumstances of their deaths, we hope to move forward and begin the healing process."

Prosecutor James R. Ennis said that the women were bludgeoned with a wood-splitting tool _ a maul _ while they slept on Sept. 15, 2009. Mark Niederbrock was killed with the tool when he came to check on them a day and a half later.

Asked why McCroskey remained in the house, Bowen said, "I think he was contemplating suicide. He was contemplating what he had done, and not knowing what to do about it."

Ennis declined to speculate on a motive. "He's a closed individual," he said.

But Bowen said McCroskey had become increasingly angry with Emma and believed she "wasn't being loyal to him."

McCroskey and Emma Niederbrock shared an interest in the "horrorcore" genre, which sets violent lyrics over hip-hop beats.

McCroskey, a website designer and music promoter, had been rapping under the name "Syko Sam." He flew to Virginia to visit Emma, and her parents drove them and Wells to a horrorcore music festival in Michigan Sept. 12. Police found their bodies six days later after Wells' parents became worried that she didn't return home.

Bowen said McCroskey had confided to friends he had killed the four.

Asked if McCroskey's musical interests had fueled his rage, Bowen said, "Much of that music is so rampant with this exact kind of behavior, you can't help but notice the coincidence. But I don't have a sense the music led to this kind of behavior."

Ennis said McCroskey had no criminal record. He said he had discussed the plea agreement with the victims' families, and their sentiments played a role in structuring the plea.

"Anything can go wrong in a jury trial," he said. "Hopefully this can bring some measure of closure to the families."

On McCroskey's MySpace page, people have posted messages of support in recent weeks.

"free syko sam we need more tracks!!" reads a post under the name J.R.B. from last month.

www.wtop.com

Pocomoke Man Charged With Possession Of Pot And Other Drugs

A Pocomoke man is charged with a variety of drug offenses after he was spotted in the West Ocean City Wawa with a partially burnt marijuana cigarette behind his ear by a Maryland State Trooper. 26 year old Tyrone Scruggs was arrested and faces numerous drug offenses.

CRIMINAL PRESS RELEASE:
Time: 09/17/2010 @ 2321 hours
Case #: 10-96-006202
Location: WAWA 12502 Ocean Gateway Ocean City, Worcester County, MD
Crime: Possession of CDS: Marijuana, cocaine, and paraphernalia
Victim: State of Maryland
Accused: Tyrone Scruggs 26 yoa from Pocomoke City, MD

Narrative: .. On the above date and time an on duty Trooper from the Berlin Barrack was in the WAWA convenience store located at the above location. While in the store he observed the above subject had a partially burnt rolled marijuana cigarette held behind his ear in plain view. The Trooper took the above subject into custody for marijuana possession. During a further search of the accused, the Trooper located a baggie containing crack cocaine and powder cocaine. The accused was processed and taken before a District Court Commissioner for CDS marijuana, CDS cocaine, and paraphernalia charges.

Disposition: Taken before District Court Commissioner.

www.wgmd.com

Arrest Made In Duck Inn Robery

POCOMOKE CITY, Md. - A man has been arrested in connection to an armed robbery. Worcester County authorities have arrested Wayne Tyler Jr., 32, of Pocomoke City on charges of armed robbery and assault.


They say Tyler allegedly robbed the Duck Inn store in Pocomoke at gunpoint back on August 19th. Tyler is being held at the Worcester County Jail on $250,000 bond.

Authorities also say the Duck Inn store was robbed again a week later, on April 28th.

Anyone with information about that robbery is asked to call The Worcester County Bureau of Investigations at (410) 352-3476 or Pocomoke City Police Dept. at (410) 957-1600.

www.wmdt.com

Only Woman On Virginia Death Row To Die By Lethal Injection

RICHMOND

The Virginia Department of Corrections says the only woman on the state's death row has declined to choose the method of her scheduled Sept. 23 execution.

That means lethal injection will be the procedure when 40-year-old Teresa Lewis of Pittsylvania County is put to death for plotting to have her husband and stepson killed in 2002 so she could collect a $250,000 life insurance policy.

State law allows a condemned inmate to select either electrocution or lethal injection. The latter procedure is used if the inmate declines to choose.

Lewis would be the first woman executed in Virginia in nearly 100 years and the first in the U.S. since 2005.

Lewis offered herself and her 16-year-old daughter for sex to two men who committed the killings. She provided money to buy the murder weapons and stood by while they shot her husband, Julian Clifton Lewis Jr., 51, and stepson Charles J. Lewis, 25.

Lewis rummaged through her husband's pockets for money while he lay dying and waited nearly an hour before calling 911.

The gunmen, Rodney Fuller and Matthew Shallenberger, were sentenced to life in prison. Shallenberger committed suicide in prison in 2006.

www.hamptonroads.com

Accomack County Sheriff's Office Needs Public's Help....

The Accomack County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public's help.

They say this man, 40-year-old Kenneth Corneal Birch, Jr. of Saxis, Virginia is wanted in connection with the August 21st robbery of the Oak Hall Corner Mart.

A felony warrant has been obtained by the Sheriff’s Office charging Birch with robbery.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office at 787-1131 or 824-5666.

http://www.wboc.com/

Missing Person Alex Arroyo-Flores Has Been Found

UPDATE

FROM Sgt. C. Wendlandt, Wicomico County Sheriff: Unfortunately on 09-4-10 Alex Arroyo-Flores’ body was found in the Rehobeth DE K-Mart shopping center in his car. His death is still under the investigation of the Delaware State Police.

The family would like to thank all those who offered their help, prayers and thoughts.

www.wboc.com

Let's hope that this is solved quickly!

Vehicle Found In Rehobeth Beach

DSP investigating a body found in a Silver Toyota Corolla with MD registration in the Rehoboth Beach Kmart.

The deceased male was found in the back seat of the car.

The car fits the same description as the car driven my a missing 21-year old Salisbury man.

www.wboc.com

5 Guilty Pleas in Northampton County Circuit Court

Northampton County Commonwealths Attorney Bruce Jones reports the following cases were heard in Northampton County Circuit Court:

Michael Devaughn Mitchell, 21 of Cape Charles, pled guilty to breaking and entering, grand larceny and destruction of property.

Cynthia Weathers, 35 of Jamesville, plead guilty to 4 counts of welfare fraud.

Juan Perez-Lopez, 25, pled guilty to breaking and entering and grand larceny. Perez was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on each count to run concurrently with all time suspended but 6 months.

Andre Darnell Echevarria, AKA Andre Pittman, 29 of Boston, Ma., pled guilty to forging a public document, obstruction and driving on a suspended license. Echevarria was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment with all but 6 months suspended.

Mary Elizabeth Douglas, 43 of Nassawadox, pled guilty to felony eluding.
http://www.shoredailynews.com/

Arrest Made For 3 Accomack County Robberies

ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va.- Authorities have arrested an Eden, Md. man wanted in connection with a series of armed robberies that occurred late last week in Accomack County.

Sidney Andre Cottman, 33, is charged with three counts of robbery, three counts of use of firearm in commission of a robbery and three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is being held without bond in the Accomack County Jail.

According to Maj. Todd Godwin of the Accomack County Sheriff's Office, on Friday, Aug. 27 Cottman robbed the Royal Farms convenience store in Nelsonia and the Tru Blue gas station. Cottman is also accused of robbing the Dollar General in Oak Hall on Thursday, Aug. 26. In all three incidents Cottman held the clerks up at gunpoint and got away with an undisclosed amount of money, Godwin said.

Godwin said that while investigating the robberies, police received a tip that led them to a bus stop in Oak Hall where Cottman was getting ready to board a bus in order to flee the area. Sheriff's deputies and Virginia State Police troopers surrounded the bus stop in their search for Cottman who was taken into custody without incident.

The Sheriff's Office was also assisted by Virginia Marine Police and the Exmore Police Department.

www.wboc.com

Has Robbery Become A Sport?

If you haven't heard and you live in the Pocomoke area the Pocomoke Duck In got robbed AGAIN just a few hours ago! Yes, that's right! AGAIN!!! If I am counting correctly that makes it TWICE in one week!

I don't know about any of you but I find this very disturbing. But I guess this will continue until the taxpayers put their foot down and demand to know. Even then I don't think it will work. And for the life of me I truly do NOT understand why law enforcement doesn't want people to know about crime in their area.

Aren't our eyes and ears a valuable source to law enforcement? If not then please stop asking us if we have seen these people a week after the incident occurs.

Crime is everywhere now. Corner Mart at T's Corner was robbed earlier this week and just last night a Royal Farms was robbed in the Virginia area. I will give our sheriff's department credit because they DO report to the citizens.......most of the time........and aren't afraid to ask for the publics help.

Robberies in stores should be reported to the media the next day. Any type of crime needs to reported to the public the next day............all of the info....... Citizens should not have to be "fed" bits and pieces and rely on "public information.

Photo Of Suspect Who Robbed Corner Mart/Oak Hall, Virginia

ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) - An Accomack County convenience store was robbed late Saturday night, according to Major Todd Godwin.

The suspect walked into the Corner Mart in Oak Hall and robbed the clerk of money and merchandise. He fled the scene in a black step-side Chevrolet pickup.

Police released a surveillance photo of the suspect, from the store. If you recognize him, call the Accomack County Sheriff's Office at 787-1131 or 824-5666.